Over the weekend, my sister in law married her long time love in a simple, intimate ceremony on the family farm. Rowenna served as flower girl. Ok, in the interest of full disclosure: she took one step down the aisle, tossed her mini bouquet on the ground, then made a bee line for daddy at […]
Tag Archives | Down syndrome
Why I Chose a CVS, And Why I Support Non Invasive Testing
As a member of the parenting community, here’s a sampling of things I get to hear and read with great frequency: -“I would never choose a cvs or amnio because I wouldn’t want to harm my baby.” -“I would never choose a cvs or amnio because I would never terminate my pregnancy.” -“I would never […]
Blog Hop: A Truth, A Tip, and a Picture
Blog hop time! Hopping with the wonderful bloggers at the International Alliance of Writers for Down Syndrome. We’re offering up a truth, a tip, and a picture. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen to see the other writers participating in the hop! A Truth: There is a need – a deep need – […]
Independence
It’s been a big summer for Rowenna. When school ended for the year, we took down all the gates in the house. I was tired of stepping over them and Rowenna had developed a series of techniques for breaking through them. (Including using her baby carriage to crash through, which, while frustrating was also kind […]
Summer
Blog hopping this week! Check out everyone’s favorite summer time memories and traditions on the Down Syndrome Blogs Blog Hop! So what do I love about summer, and what do I hope to share with Rowenna? It’s the sound of summer. It starts with being able to finally leave windows open and waking up to […]
Three
Rowenna is three today. When she was born and we were swept up into a world we never dreamed we would be part of, all the appointments and therapy and what ifs, it seemed like three was so far away. Three, with its built in transition from early intervention to public school. It was hard […]
Gone
I’ve lost another baby. That’s the third I’ve lost, the third in a row, and my fourth pregnancy. Lost before we knew boy or girl or had much time to dream about who might be joining the family. There’s not much to say at this point, though this third loss magically opens a door to […]
The Line
Today was Rowenna’s last day of Montessori preschool. For the end of the year program, parents joined their children in a circle as they sang their favorite songs with their teacher. The children either sat on carpet squares or on their parents’ laps in the circle, singing and performing hand actions. Rowenna? She was walking […]
An End
We’re nearing the end of an era for Rowenna. In 3 short weeks, my sweet girl will be three and she will finish with the Birth to 3 program. It’s a hard stop – on her third birthday, everything just ends. No transition, no easing into the next step. Rowenna’s situation is a bit different […]
Hope Bigger Than Fear
I’m just home from a conference. I spent 2 days surrounded by families and individuals with disabilities at a conference about life in Disability World – the ins and outs of service systems, how to advocate for yourself and for systems change, and discussion of the Big Ideas that cause us to step back and […]
